Swastika (Skt. स्वस्तिक from Skt. स्वस्ति , svasti, greeting, wish of good luck) - a cross with curved ends (“rotating”), directed clockwise (卐) or counterclockwise (卍). The swastika is one of the most ancient and widespread graphic symbols.
The swastika was used by many peoples of the world - it was present on weapons, everyday items, clothing, banners and coats of arms, and was used in the decoration of churches and houses. The oldest archaeological finds depicting the swastika date back to approximately 10-15 millennium BC.
The swastika as a symbol has many meanings; for most peoples, all of them were positive. For most ancient peoples, the swastika was a symbol of the movement of life, the Sun, light and prosperity.
Occasionally, the swastika is also used in heraldry, mainly English, where it is called fylfot and is usually depicted with shortened ends.
In the Vologda region, where swastika patterns and signs are extremely widespread, village elders in the 50s said that the word swastika - Russian word, which comes from sva- (one’s own, following the example of matchmaker, brother-in-law, etc.) -isti- or is, I exist, with the addition of the particle -ka, which must be understood as reducing the meaning of the main word (river - river, stove - stove, etc. . d.), that is, a sign. Thus, the word swastika, in this etymology, means a sign of “one’s own,” and not someone else’s. What was it like for our grandfathers, from the same Vologda region, to see themselves on the banners worst enemy sign “there is one”.
Near the constellation Ursa Major (Dr. Makosh) highlight the constellation Swastikas, which to date is not included in any astronomical atlas.
Constellation swastikas in the upper left corner of the image of the star map in the Earth's sky
Basic energy centers human beings, called chakras in the East, were previously called swastikas on the territory of modern Rus': the oldest amulet symbol of the Slavs and Aryans, a symbol of the eternal circulation of the Universe. The swastika reflects the Highest Heavenly Law, to which all things are subject. This fire sign used by people as a talisman that protects the existing order in the Universe.
Swastika in the cultures of countries and peoples
The swastika is one of the most archaic sacred symbols, found already in the Upper Paleolithic among many peoples of the world. India, ancient Rus', China, Ancient Egypt, the Mayan state in Central America - this is the incomplete geography of this symbol. Swastika symbols were used to designate calendar signs back in the days of the Scythian kingdom. The swastika can be seen on old Orthodox icons. The swastika is a symbol of the Sun, good luck, happiness, creation (the “correct” swastika). And, accordingly, the swastika in the opposite direction symbolizes darkness, destruction, the “night Sun” among the ancient Russians. As can be seen from ancient ornaments, in particular on jugs found in the vicinity of Arkaim, both swastikas were used. This has deep meaning. Day follows night, light follows darkness, rebirth follows death - and this is the natural order of things in the Universe. Therefore, in ancient times there were no “bad” and “good” swastikas - they were perceived in unity.
This symbol was found on clay vessels from Samarra (the territory of modern Iraq), which date back to the 5th millennium BC. The swastika in levorotatory and dextrorotatory forms is found in the pre-Aryan culture of Mohenjo-Daro (Indus River basin) and ancient China around 2000 BC. In Northeast Africa, archaeologists have found a funerary stele from the kingdom of Meroz, which existed in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. The fresco on the stele depicts a woman entering the afterlife; a swastika also appears on the clothes of the deceased. The rotating cross also decorates golden weights for scales that belonged to the inhabitants of Ashanta (Ghana), and clay utensils of the ancient Indians, and Persian carpets. The swastika was on almost all amulets of the Slavs, Germans, Pomors, Skalvi, Curonians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Mordovians, Udmurts, Bashkirs, Chuvash and many other peoples. In many religions, the swastika is an important religious symbol.
Children light oil lamps during Diwali on New Year's Eve.
The swastika in India has traditionally been viewed as a solar sign - a symbol of life, light, generosity and abundance. She was closely connected with the cult of the god Agni. She is mentioned in the Ramayana. Was made in the shape of a swastika wooden instrument to produce sacred fire. They laid him flat on the ground; the depression in the middle served for a rod, which was rotated until a fire appeared, lit on the altar of the deity. It was carved in many temples, on rocks, on ancient monuments of India. Also symbol esoteric Buddhism. In this aspect it is called the “Seal of the Heart” and, according to legend, was imprinted on the heart of the Buddha. Her image is placed on the hearts of initiates after their death. Known as the Buddhist cross (shape similar to the Maltese cross). The swastika is found wherever there are traces of Buddhist culture - on rocks, in temples, stupas and on Buddha statues. Together with Buddhism, it penetrated from India to China, Tibet, Siam and Japan.
In China, the swastika is used as a symbol of all the deities worshiped in the Lotus School, as well as in Tibet and Siam. In ancient Chinese manuscripts it included such concepts as “region” and “country”. Known in the form of a swastika are two curved mutually truncated fragments of a double helix, expressing the symbolism of the relationship between “Yin” and “Yang”. In maritime civilizations, the double helix motif was an expression of the relationship between opposites, a sign of the Upper and Lower Waters, and also signified the process of the formation of life. Widely used by Jains and followers of Vishnu. In Jainism, the four arms of the swastika represent the four levels of existence. On one of the Buddhist swastikas, each blade of the cross ends with a triangle indicating the direction of movement and crowned with an arch of the flawed moon, in which the sun is placed, like in a boat. This sign represents the sign of the mystical arba, the creative quaternary, also called the hammer of Thor. A similar cross was found by Schliemann during the excavations of Troy.
Greek helmet with swastika, 350-325 BC from Taranto, found in Herculanum. Cabinet of medals. Paris.
Swastika on Russian territory
A special type of swastika, symbolizing the rising Sun-Yarila, the victory of Light over Darkness, Eternal life above death, called brace(lit. "rotation of the wheel", Old Church Slavonic form Kolovrat was also used in Old Russian).
The swastika was used in rituals and construction. So, in particular, many ancient Slavic settlements had the shape of a swastika, oriented to the four cardinal directions. The swastika was often the main element of Proto-Slavic ornaments.
According to archaeological excavations, this is exactly how some ancient cities in Russia were built. Such a circular structure can be observed, for example, in Arkaim - one of the famous and ancient buildings on the territory of Russia. Arkaim was built according to a pre-designed plan as a single complex complex, moreover, oriented towards astronomical objects with the greatest precision. The design formed by the four entrances in the outer wall of Arkaim is a swastika. Moreover, the swastika is “correct”, that is, directed towards the Sun.
The swastika was also used by the peoples of Russia in homespun production: in embroidery on clothes, on carpets. Household utensils were decorated with swastikas. She was also present on the icons.
In light of the often stormy and controversial discussions around the ancient symbol of the Russian National Culture- The Gammatic Cross (Yarga-Swastika) must be reminded that it was one of the symbols of the struggle against the centuries-old oppression of the Russian people. Not many people know that many centuries ago “the Lord God indicated to Emperor Constantine the Great that with the cross he would win... only with Christ and precisely with the Cross would the Russian People defeat all their enemies and finally throw off the hated yoke of the Jews! But the Cross with which the Russian People will win is not simple, but, as usual, golden, but for the time being it is hidden from many Russian Patriots under the rubble of lies and slander.” In news reports based on the books of Kuznetsov V.P. “The history of the development of the shape of the cross.” M. 1997; Kutenkova P. I. “Yarga-swastika - a sign of Russian folk culture» St. Petersburg. 2008; Bagdasarov R. “The Mysticism of the Fiery Cross” M. 2005, talks about the place in the culture of the Russian People of the most blessed cross - the swastika. The swastika cross has one of the most perfect forms and contains in graphic form the entire mystical secret of God's Providence and the entire dogmatic completeness of Church teaching.
Icon "Symbol of Faith"
Swastika in the RSFSR
It is necessary to remind and remember from now on that “Russians are the third Chosen People of God ( “The Third Rome is Moscow, the Fourth will not happen”); swastika - a graphic representation of the entire mystical secret the Providence of God, and the entire dogmatic completeness of Church teaching; The Russian People are under the sovereign hand of the Victorious Tsar from the Reigning House of Romanov, who swore to God in 1613 to be faithful until the end of time and this people will defeat all their enemies under the banners on which the swastika - the gammatic cross - will develop under the face of the Savior Not Made by Hands! IN State Emblem the swastika will also be placed on a large crown, which symbolizes the power of the Anointed Tsar both in the earthly Church of Christ and in the Kingdom of God’s Chosen Russian People.”
In 3-2 millennia BC. e. swastika braiding is found on Chalcolithic ceramics from the Tomsk-Chulym region and on gold and bronze items of the Slavs found in the burial mounds of the Stavropol region in the Kuban. In the second half of the 4th millennium BC. e. swastika symbols are common in the North Caucasus (where the Sumerians - the Proto-Slavs - come from) in the form huge models Sun-mounds. In plan, the mounds represent already known varieties of swastikas. Only magnified thousands of times. At the same time, a swastika ornament in the form of a wickerwork is often found at the Neolithic sites of the Kama region and the Northern Volga region. A swastika on a clay vessel found in Samara also dates back to 4000 BC. e. At the same time, a four-pointed zoomorphic swastika is depicted on a vessel from the area between the Prut and Dniester rivers. In the 5th millennium BC. e. Slavic religious symbols - swastikas - are ubiquitous. Anatolian dishes depict a centripetal rectangular swastika surrounded by two circles of fish and long-tailed birds. Spiral-shaped swastikas were found in Northern Moldova, as well as in the area between the Seret and Stryp rivers and in the Moldavian Carpathian region. In the 6th millennium BC. e. swastikas are common on spindle whorls in Mesopotamia, in the Neolithic culture of Tripoli-Cucuteni, on the bowls of Samara, etc. In the 7th millennium BC. e. Slavic swastikas inscribed on clay seals of Anatolia and Mesopotamia.
An ornamental swastika net was found in stamps and on a bracelet made from mammoth bone in Myozin, Chernigov region. And this is a find from the 23rd millennium BC! And 35-40 thousand years ago, the Neanderthals who inhabited Siberia, as a result of two to three million years of adaptation, acquired the appearance of Caucasians, as evidenced by the teeth of adolescents discovered in the Altai caves of Denisov, named after Okladchikov and in the village of Sibiryachikha. And these anthropological studies were carried out by the American anthropologist K. Turner.
Swastikas in post-imperial Russia
In Russia, the swastika first appeared in official symbols in 1917 - it was then, on April 24, that the Provisional Government issued a decree on the issue of new banknotes in denominations of 250 and 1000 rubles. The peculiarity of these bills was that they had an image of a swastika. Here is a description of the front side of the 1000-ruble banknote, given in paragraph No. 128 of the Senate resolution of June 6, 1917:
“The main pattern of the grid consists of two large oval guilloche rosettes - right and left... In the center of each of both large rosettes there is a geometric pattern formed by crosswise intersecting wide stripes, bent at right angles, at one end to the right, and at the other to the left... The intermediate background between both large rosettes is filled with a guilloche pattern, and the center of this background is occupied by a geometric ornament of the same pattern as in both rosettes, but of a larger size.”
Unlike the 1,000-ruble banknote, the 250-ruble banknote had only one swastika - in the center behind the eagle. From the banknotes of the Provisional Government, the swastika migrated to the first Soviet banknotes. True, in this case this was caused by production necessity, and not ideological considerations: it was simply the Bolsheviks, who in 1918 were preoccupied with the production own money, they simply took ready-made clichés of the new banknotes (5,000 and 10,000 rubles) prepared for release in 1918, created by order of the Provisional Government. Kerensky and his comrades were unable to print these banknotes due to known circumstances, but the leadership of the RSFSR found the clichés useful. Thus, swastikas were present on Soviet banknotes of 5,000 and 10,000 rubles. These banknotes were in circulation until 1922.
The Red Army also used swastikas. In November 1919, the commander of the South-Eastern Front V.I. Shorin issued order No. 213, which introduced a new sleeve insignia for Kalmyk formations. The appendix to the order also included a description of the new sign: “Rhombus measuring 15x11 centimeters made of red cloth. In the top corner five pointed star, in the center there is a wreath, in the middle of which is “LYUNGTN” with the inscription “R. S.F.S.R. “Star diameter - 15 mm, wreath 6 cm, size “LYUNGTN” - 27 mm, letter - 6 mm. The badge for command and administrative personnel is embroidered in gold and silver and for the Red Army soldiers is stenciled. The star, “lyungtn” and the wreath ribbon are embroidered in gold (for Red Army soldiers - yellow paint), the wreath itself and the inscription are in silver (for Red Army soldiers - in white paint).” The mysterious abbreviation (if it is, of course, an abbreviation at all) LYUNGTN precisely denoted the swastika.
Over the course of a number of years, the author’s collection was replenished, and in 1971 a full-fledged book on vexillology was prepared, supplemented by historical background information explaining the evolution of flags. The book was equipped with an alphabetical index of country names in Russian and English. The book was designed by artists B. P. Kabashkin, I. G. Baryshev and V. V. Borodin, who painted flags specifically for this publication.
Although almost two years passed from submission to typesetting (December 17, 1969) to signing for printing (September 15, 1971), and the text of the book was as ideologically verified as possible, a disaster occurred. When receiving signal copies of the finished edition (75 thousand copies) from the printing house, it was discovered that the illustrations on a number of pages of the historical section contain images of flags with swastikas (pages 5-8; 79-80; 85-86 and 155-156). Emergency measures were taken to reprint these pages in an edited form, that is, without these illustrations. Then the ideologically harmful, “anti-Soviet” sheets were manually (for the entire circulation!) cut out and new ones were pasted in, in the spirit of communist ideology.
The Ynglings claim that the ancient Slavs used 144 swastika symbols. Also, they offer their own decoding of the word “Swastika”: “Sva” - “vault”, “heaven”, “S” - direction of rotation, “Tika” - “running”, “movement”, which defines: “Coming from the sky” .
Swastika in India
Swastika on a Buddha statue
In pre-Buddhist ancient Indian and some other cultures, the swastika is usually interpreted as a sign of favorable destinies, a symbol of the sun. This symbol is still widely used in India and South Korea, and most weddings, holidays and celebrations are not complete without it.
Swastika in Finland
Since 1918, the swastika has been part of state symbols Finland (now depicted on the presidential standard, as well as on the banners of the armed forces).
Swastika in Poland
In the Polish army, the swastika was used in the emblem on the collars of the Podhala Riflemen (21st and 22nd Mountain Rifle Divisions
Swastika in Latvia
In Latvia the swastika, which is local tradition had the name “fiery cross”, was the emblem of the air force from 1919 to 1940
Swastika in Germany
- Rudyard Kipling, whose collected works were always decorated with a swastika, ordered it to be removed in the latest edition in order to avoid association with Nazism.
After World War II, the image of the swastika was banned in a number of countries and can be criminally punishable.
The swastika as an emblem of Nazi and fascist organizations
Even before the Nazis entered the German political arena, the swastika was used as a symbol of German nationalism by various paramilitary organizations. It was worn, in particular, by members of G. Erhardt's troops.
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In the mind of Hitler himself, it symbolized the “struggle for the triumph of the Aryan race.” This choice also combined the mystical occult meaning swastikas, and the idea of the swastika as an “Aryan” symbol (due to its prevalence in India), and the already established use of the swastika in the German far-right tradition: it was used by some Austrian anti-Semitic parties, and in March 1920, during the Kapp Putsch, it was depicted on the helmets of the Erhardt brigade that entered Berlin (there may have been Baltic influence here, since many soldiers of the Freikorps encountered swastikas in Latvia and Finland). In 1923, at the Nazi congress, Hitler reported that the black swastika was a call for a merciless fight against communists and Jews. Already in the 1920s, the swastika became increasingly associated with Nazism; after 1933, it finally began to be perceived as a Nazi symbol par excellence, as a result of which, for example, it was excluded from the emblem of the scout movement.
However, strictly speaking, the Nazi symbol was not just any swastika, but a four-pointed one, with the ends directed towards right side, and rotated by 45°. Moreover, it should be in a white circle, which in turn is depicted on a red rectangle. This very sign was on the state banner of National Socialist Germany in 1933-1945, as well as on the emblems of the civil and military services of this country (although, of course, other options were used for decorative purposes, including by the Nazis).
In 1931-1943, the swastika was on the flag of the Russian Fascist Party, organized by Russian emigrants in Manchukuo (China).
The swastika is currently used by a number of racist organizations
Swastika in transcripts of Soviet teenagers
Acrophonemic convention of meaning Nazi swastika of the Third Reich, - widespread in decoding among Soviet children and teenagers based on films and stories about the Great Patriotic War(WWII), - the encrypted name of state political figures, leaders and members of the Socialist German Workers' Party in Germany, according to the first letters of surnames known in history: Hitler ( German Adolf Hitler), Himler ( German Heinrich Himmler), Goebbels ( German Joseph Goebbels), Goering ( German Hermann Göring).
Swastika in the USA
The urban legend of the Soviet pioneers said that the swastika was the four letters G gathered in a circle: Hitler, Goebbels, Goering, Himmler. The children didn’t think about what German G’s actually are different letters- H and G. Although the number of leading Nazis in G really went off scale - you can also remember Grohe, and Hess, and many others. But it's better not to remember.
The German Nazis used this sign even before Hitler came to power. And why they showed such interest in the swastika is not at all surprising: for them it was an object of mystical power that came from India, from the original Aryan territories. Well, it also looked beautiful, and the leaders of the national socialist movement always attached great importance to issues of aesthetics.
Statue of an Indian elephant with a swastika on the site of the old Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen. The statue has nothing to do with Nazism: pay attention to the dots near the center
If we consider the swastika not as part of patterns and designs, but as an independent object, then its first appearance dates back to approximately the 6th-5th centuries BC. It can be seen on objects found in excavations in the Middle East. Why is it customary to call India the birthplace of the swastika? Because the word “swastika” itself is taken from Sanskrit (a literary ancient Indian language), means “well-being”, and purely graphically (according to the most common theory) symbolizes the Sun. Four-pointedness is far from necessary for it; there is also a great variety of angles of rotation, inclination of rays and additional patterns. In classical Hindu form, she is usually depicted as in the picture below.
There are many interpretations of which direction the swastika should rotate. There is even discussion of dividing them into female and male, depending on the direction
Due to the high popularity of the Sun among people of all races, it is logical that the swastika is an element of symbolism, writing and graphics among hundreds and hundreds of ancient peoples scattered throughout the planet. Even in Christianity it has found its place, and there is an opinion that the Christian cross is its direct descendant. Family traits are really easy to discern. In our dear Orthodoxy, swastika-like elements were called “gammatic cross” and were often used in the design of temples. True, now it is not so easy to detect their traces in Russia, since after the start of the Great Patriotic War even harmless Orthodox swastikas were eliminated.
Orthodox gamma cross
The swastika is such a widespread object of world culture and religion that what is rather surprising is the rarity of its appearance in modern world. Logically, she should follow us everywhere. The answer is really simple: after the collapse of the Third Reich, it began to evoke such unpleasant associations that they got rid of it with unprecedented zeal. This is amusingly reminiscent of the story of the name Adolf, which was extremely popular in Germany at all times, but almost disappeared from use after 1945.
Craftsmen have gotten used to finding swastikas in the most unexpected places. With the advent of space images of the Earth in the public domain, the search for natural and architectural incidents has turned into a kind of sport. The most popular site for conspiracy theorists and swastikophiles is the naval base building in San Diego, California, designed in 1967.
The US Navy spent $600 thousand to somehow rid this building of its resemblance to a swastika, but final result disappointing
The Russian Internet and some station stalls are filled with all sorts of interpreters of Slavic pagan swastikas, where they meticulously explain in pictures what “yarovrat”, “svitovit” or “posolon” means. It sounds and looks exciting, but keep in mind that there is no trace of any scientific basis behind these myths. Even the term “Kolovrat”, which has come into use, supposedly Slavic name swastikas are the product of speculation and myth-making.
A beautiful example of rich Slavophile fantasy. Pay special attention to the name of the first swastika on the second page
Outlandish mystical powers attributed to the swastika, hence the interest in it from people who are suspicious, superstitious or prone to the occult. Does it bring happiness to the wearer? Think about it: Hitler used it both in the tail and in the mane, and ended up so badly that you wouldn’t wish it on your enemy.
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was a big fan of swastikas. She drew the symbol everywhere she could reach with pencils and paints, especially in her children’s rooms, so that they would grow up healthy and not worry about anything. But the empress was shot by the Bolsheviks along with her entire family. The conclusions are obvious.
The version that it was Hitler who had the brilliant idea to make the swastika a symbol of the National Socialist movement belongs to the Fuhrer himself and was voiced in Mein Kampf. Probably, nine-year-old Adolf first saw a swastika on the wall of a Catholic monastery near the town of Lambach.
The swastika sign has been popular since ancient times. A cross with curved ends has appeared on coins, household items, and coats of arms since the eighth millennium BC. The swastika symbolized life, sun, and prosperity. Hitler could see the swastika again in Vienna on the emblem of Austrian anti-Semitic organizations.
Having christened archaic solar symbol Hakenkreuz (Hakenkreuz is translated from German as hook cross), Hitler arrogated to himself the priority of the discoverer, although the idea of the swastika as a political symbol had taken root in Germany before him. In 1920, Hitler, who was, albeit unprofessional and untalented, but still an artist, allegedly independently developed the design of the party logo, proposing a red flag with a white circle in the middle, in the center of which a hooked black swastika spread predatorily.
The color red, according to the leader of the National Socialists, was chosen in imitation of the Marxists who used it. Having seen a hundred and twenty thousand demonstration of leftist forces under scarlet banners, Hitler noted the active influence of the bloody color on common man. In the book Mein Kampf, the Fuhrer mentioned the "great psychological significance» symbols and their ability to powerfully influence emotions. But it was precisely by controlling the emotions of the crowd that Hitler managed to introduce the ideology of his party to the masses in an unprecedented way.
By adding a swastika to the red color, Adolf gave a diametrically opposite meaning to the favorite color scheme of the socialists. By attracting the attention of the workers with the familiar color of the posters, Hitler carried out a “recruitment.”
The red color in Hitler's interpretation personified the idea of movement, white - the sky and nationalism, the hoe-shaped swastika - labor and the anti-Semitic struggle of the Aryans. Creative work mysteriously interpreted as anti-Semitic.
In general, it is impossible to call Hitler the author of National Socialist symbols, contrary to his statements. He borrowed the color from the Marxists, the swastika and even the name of the party (slightly rearranging the letters) from the Viennese nationalists. The idea of using symbolism is also plagiarism. It belongs to the oldest party member - a dentist named Friedrich Krohn, who submitted a memorandum to the party leadership back in 1919. However, the savvy dentist is not mentioned in the bible of National Socialism, Mein Kampf.
However, Kron put a different content into the decoding of symbols. The red color of the banner is love for the homeland, the white circle is a symbol of innocence for the outbreak of the First World War, the black color of the cross is grief over losing the war.
In Hitler’s interpretation, the swastika became a sign of the Aryan struggle against “subhumans.” The claws of the cross seem to be aimed at Jews, Slavs, and representatives of other peoples who do not belong to the race of “blond beasts.”
Unfortunately, the ancient positive sign was discredited by the National Socialists. The Nuremberg Tribunal in 1946 banned Nazi ideology and symbols. The swastika was also banned. IN lately she has been somewhat rehabilitated. Roskomnadzor, for example, recognized in April 2015 that displaying this sign outside of a propaganda context is not an act of extremism. Although a “reprehensible past” cannot be erased from a biography, and the swastika is used by some racist organizations.
In world history textbooks, documentaries about the Second World War we see a sign that carries the ideology of fascism. A frightening sign is painted on the armbands of the SS men, on the fascist flag. They marked captured objects. Many countries were afraid of the bloody symbol and, of course, no one thought about what it meant fascist swastika.
Historical roots
Contrary to our assumptions, the swastika is not Hitler’s invention. This symbol begins its history far before our era. In the process of studying different eras, archaeologists see this ornament on clothing and various household items.
The geography of finds is vast: Iraq, India, China and even in Africa a funeral fresco with a swastika was found. However, the most huge amount evidence of the use of the swastika in everyday life people were collected on the territory of Russia.
The word itself is translated from Sanskrit - happiness, prosperity. According to some scientists, the sign of a rotating cross symbolizes the path of the sun across the dome of heaven, is a symbol of fire and hearth. Protects the house and the temple.
Initially, tribes of white people, the so-called Aryan race, began to use the sign of a rotating cross in everyday life. However, Aryans are historically Indo-Iranians. Presumably, the indigenous territory is the Eurasian circumpolar region, the region of the Ural Mountains, and therefore the close connection with the Slavic peoples is quite understandable.
Later, these tribes actively moved south and settled in Iraq and India, bringing with them culture and religion to these lands.
What does the German swastika mean?
The sign of the rotating cross was revived in the 19th century thanks to active archaeological activities. Then it was used in Europe as a talisman that brought good luck. Later, a theory about the exclusivity of the German race appeared, and the swastika acquired the status symbol of many far-right German parties.
In his autobiographical book, Hitler indicated that he came up with the emblem of the new Germany on his own. However, in fact, this was already a long time ago for everyone famous sign. Hitler depicted him black, with a white ring, on a red background and called him Hakenkreuz, which in German means " hook cross».
The blood-red canvas was proposed deliberately in order to attract the attention of the Soviet people and taking into account psychological influence this shade. White ring is a sign of national socialism, and the swastika is a sign of the Aryans’ struggle for their pure blood.
According to Hitler's idea, hooks were knives prepared for Jews, gypsies and the unclean.
Swastika of the Slavs and the Nazis: differences
However, when compared with the fascist ideological emblem, a number of distinctive features were discovered:
- The Slavs did not have clear rules for depicting the sign. A swastika was considered enough large number ornaments, they all had their own names and had special powers. They featured intersecting lines, frequent branches, or even curved curves. As is known, in the Hitler emblem there is only a tetrahedral cross with sharp curved ends in left side. All intersections and bends are at right angles;
- The Indo-Iranians painted the sign in red on a white background, but other cultures: Buddhist and Indian used blue or yellow;
- The Aryan sign was a powerful noble amulet that symbolized wisdom, family values and self-knowledge. According to their idea, the German cross is a weapon against the unclean race;
- Ancestors used ornaments in household items. They decorated clothes, handles, napkins with them, and painted vases with them. The Nazis used the swastika for military and political purposes.
Thus, you cannot put both of these signs on the same line. They have quite a lot of differences, both in writing and in use and ideology.
Myths about the swastika
Highlight some misconceptions regarding the ancient graphic ornament:
- The direction of rotation does not matter. According to one theory, the direction of the sun to the right means peaceful creative energy, and if the rays look to the left, then the energy becomes destructive. The Slavs also used the left-handed ornament to attract the patronage of their ancestors and increase the strength of the clan;
- Author German swastika not Hitler. For the first time, a mythical sign was brought to Austria by a traveler - the abbot of the monastery Theodor Hagen in late XIX century, from where it spread to German soil;
- The swastika in the form of a military sign was used not only in Germany. Since 1919, the RSFSR has used sleeve badges with swastikas to identify Kalmyk military personnel.
In connection with the difficult events of the war, the swastika cross acquired a sharply negative ideological connotation and, according to the decision of the post-war tribunal, was banned.
Rehabilitation of the Aryan symbol
Different states today have different attitudes towards the swastika:
- In America, a certain sect is actively trying to rehabilitate the swastika. There is even a holiday for the rehabilitation of the swastika, which is called the World Day and is celebrated on June 23;
- In Latvia, before a hockey match, during an exhibition flash mob, dancers unfurled a large swastika figure on an ice rink;
- In Finland, the swastika is used on the official flag of the air force;
- In Russia, heated debates are still raging over the issue of restoring the rights of the mark. There are entire groups of swastikophiles who make various positive arguments. In 2015, Roskomnadzor spoke about the permissibility of displaying the swastika without its ideological propaganda. That same year, the Constitutional Court banned the use of the swastika in any form, due to the fact that it was immoral towards veterans and their descendants.
Thus, attitudes towards the Aryan sign are different all over the world. However, we all need to remember what the fascist swastika means, since it was a symbol of the most destructive ideology in the history of mankind and has nothing in common with the ancient Slavic sign in terms of semantic load.
Video about the meaning of the fascist symbol
In this video, Vitaly Derzhavin will tell you about several more meanings of the swastika, how it appeared and who was the first to use this symbol:
The four-pointed swastika is a twenty-sided triangle with axial symmetry of the 4th order. The correct -ray swastika is described by a point group of symmetry (Schönflies symbolism). This group is generated by rotation of the th order and reflection in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation - the so-called “horizontal” plane in which the drawing lies. Due to the operation of reflecting the swastika achiral and doesn't have enantiomer(that is, the "double" obtained by reflection, which cannot be combined with the original figure by any rotation). As a result, in oriented space, right- and left-handed swastikas do not differ. Right- and left-handed swastikas differ only on the plane, where the design has purely rotational symmetry. When even, an inversion appears, where is a 2nd order rotation.
You can build a swastika for anyone; when you get a figure similar to the integral sign. For example, the symbol Borjgali(see below) is a swastika with . A swastika-like figure will generally be obtained if you take any region on a plane and multiply it by rotating it times about a vertical axis that does not lie in the vertical plane of symmetry of the region.
Origin and meaning
Illustration from ESBE.
The word "swastika" is a composite of two Sanskrit roots: सु, su, “good, good” and अस्ति, asti, “life, existence,” that is, “well-being” or “well-being.” There is another name for the swastika - “gammadion” (Greek. γαμμάδιον ), since the Greeks saw the swastika as a combination of the four letters “gamma” (Γ).
The swastika is a symbol of the Sun, good luck, happiness and creation. In Western European medieval literature, the name of the sun god of the ancient Prussians Swaikstixa(Svaixtix) is first found in Latin-language monuments from the beginning of the 17th century: "Sudauer Buchlein"(mid-15th century), "Episcoporum Prussiae Pomesaniensis atque Sambiensis Constitutiones Synodales" (1530), "De Sacrificiis et Idolatria Veterum Borvssorvm Livonum, aliarumque uicinarum gentium" (1563), "De Diis Samagitarum" (1615) .
The swastika is one of the ancient and archaic solar signs - an indicator of the visible movement of the Sun around the Earth and the division of the year into four parts - four seasons. The sign records two solstices: summer and winter - and the annual movement of the Sun.
Nevertheless, the swastika is considered not only as a solar symbol, but also as a symbol of the fertility of the earth. Has the idea of four cardinal directions, centered around an axis. The swastika also suggests the idea of moving in two directions: clockwise and counterclockwise. Like “Yin” and “Yang”, a dual sign: rotating clockwise symbolizes male energy, counterclockwise - female. In ancient Indian scriptures, a distinction is made between male and female swastikas, which depict two female as well as two male deities.
The Encyclopedia of Brockhaus F.A. and Efron I.A. writes about the meaning of the swastika as follows:
| This sign has been used since time immemorial by Brahminists and Buddhists of India, China and Japan in ornaments and writing, expressing greetings and wishes for well-being. From the East the swastika moved to the West; Her images are found on some of the ancient Greek and Sicilian coins, as well as in the painting of ancient Christian catacombs, on medieval bronze tombstones, on priestly vestments of the 12th - 14th centuries. Having adopted this symbol in the first of the above forms, called the “gammed cross” ( crux gammata), Christianity gave it a meaning similar to what it had in the East, that is, it expressed to them the sending of grace and salvation. |
The swastika can be “correct” or “reverse”. Accordingly, a swastika in the opposite direction symbolizes darkness and destruction. In ancient times, both swastikas were used simultaneously. This has a deep meaning: day follows night, light replaces darkness, new birth replaces death - and this is the natural order of things in the Universe. Therefore, in ancient times there were no “bad” and “good” swastikas - they were perceived in unity.
One of the oldest forms of the swastika is Asia Minor and is an ideogram of the four cardinal directions in the form of a figure with four cross-shaped curls. The swastika was understood as a symbol of the four main forces, the four cardinal directions, the elements, the seasons and the alchemical idea of the transformation of elements.
Use in religion
In many religions, the swastika is an important religious symbol.
Buddhism
Other religions
Widely used by Jains and followers of Vishnu. In Jainism, the four arms of the swastika represent the four levels of existence.
Use in history
The swastika is a sacred symbol and is found already in the Upper Paleolithic period. The symbol is found in the culture of many nations. Ukraine, Egypt, Iran, India, China, Transoxiana, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, the Mayan state in Central America - this is the incomplete geography of this symbol. The swastika is represented in oriental ornaments, on monumental buildings and on household utensils, on various amulets and Orthodox icons.
In the Ancient World
The swastika was found on clay vessels from Samarra (the territory of modern Iraq), which date back to the 5th millennium BC, and in ornaments on ceramics of the South Ural Andronovo culture. Left- and right-handed swastikas are found in the pre-Aryan culture of Mohenjo-Daro (Indus River basin) and ancient China around 2000 BC.
One of the oldest forms of the swastika is Asia Minor and is an ideogram of the four cardinal directions in the form of a figure with four cross-shaped curls. Even in the 7th century BC, images similar to the swastika were known in Asia Minor, consisting of four cross-shaped curls - the rounded ends are signs of cyclic movement. Interesting coincidences in the image of Indian and Asia Minor swastikas (points between the branches of the swastika, jagged thickenings at the ends). Other early forms of the swastika - a square with four plant-like curves at the edges - are a sign of earth, also of Asia Minor origin.
A stele from the kingdom of Meroe, which existed in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, was discovered in Northeast Africa. e. The fresco on the stele depicts a woman entering the afterlife; a swastika also appears on the clothes of the deceased. The rotating cross also decorates golden weights for scales that belonged to the inhabitants of Ashanta (Ghana), and clay utensils of the ancient Indians, and Persian carpets. The swastika is often found on the amulets of the Slavs, Germans, Pomors, Curonians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Mordovians, Udmurts, Bashkirs, Chuvash and many other peoples. The swastika is found wherever there are traces of Buddhist culture.
In China, the swastika is used as a symbol of all the deities worshiped in the Lotus School, as well as in Tibet and Siam. In ancient Chinese manuscripts it included such concepts as “region” and “country”. Known in the form of a swastika are two curved mutually truncated fragments of a double helix, expressing the symbolism of the relationship between “Yin” and “Yang”. In maritime civilizations, the double helix motif was an expression of the relationship between opposites, a sign of the Upper and Lower Waters, and also signified the process of the formation of life. On one of the Buddhist swastikas, each blade of the cross ends with a triangle indicating the direction of movement and crowned with an arch of the flawed moon, in which the sun is placed, like in a boat. This sign represents the sign of the mystical arba, the creative quaternary, also called the hammer of Thor. A similar cross was found by Schliemann during the excavations of Troy.
The swastika was depicted in pre-Christian Roman mosaics and on coins of Cyprus and Crete. An ancient Cretan rounded swastika made from plant elements is known. The Maltese cross in the shape of a swastika made of four triangles converging in the center is of Phoenician origin. It was also known to the Etruscans. According to A. Ossendovsky, Genghis Khan wore on his right hand a ring with the image of a swastika, into which a ruby was set. Ossendowski saw this ring on the hand of the Mongol governor. Currently, this magical symbol is known mainly in India and Central and East Asia.
Swastika in India
Swastika in Russia (and on its territory)
Various types of swastika (3-rayed, 4-rayed, 8-rayed) are present on the ceramic ornament of the Andronovo archaeological culture (Southern Urals of the Bronze Age).
The rhombic-meander swastika ornament in the Kostenkovo and Mezin cultures (25-20 thousand years BC) was studied by V. A. Gorodtsov. There is no reliable data yet about where the swastika was first used, but the earliest image of it was not registered in Rus'.
The swastika was used in rituals and construction, in homespun production: in embroidery on clothes, on carpets. Household utensils were decorated with swastikas. She was also present on the icons. Embroidered on clothing, the swastika could have a certain protective meaning.
The swastika symbol was used as a personal sign and amulet symbol by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Images of the swastika are found on hand-drawn postcards of the Empress. One of the first such “signs” was placed by the empress after the signature “A.” on a Christmas card drawn by her, sent on December 5, 1917 from Tobolsk to her friend Yu. A. Den.
| I sent you at least 5 drawn cards, which you can always recognize by my signs (“swastika”), I always come up with new ones |
The swastika was depicted on some banknotes of the Provisional Government of 1917 and on some Sovznak printed with the “Kerenok” cliche, which were in circulation from 1918 to 1922. .
In November 1919, the commander of the South-Eastern Front of the Red Army, V.I. Shorin, issued a document that approved the distinctive sleeve insignia of Kalmyk formations using a swastika. The swastika in the order is denoted by the word “lyngtn”, that is, the Buddhist “Lungta”, meaning “whirlwind”, “vital energy”.
Also, the image of a swastika can be seen on some historical monuments in Chechnya, in particular at ancient crypts in the Itum-Kala region of Chechnya (the so-called “City of the Dead”). In the pre-Islamic period, the swastika was a symbol of the Sun God among the pagan Chechens (Dela-Malkh).
Swastikas and censorship in the USSR
In the territory of modern Israel, images of swastikas were discovered during excavations in the mosaics of ancient synagogues. Thus, the synagogue on the site of the ancient settlement of Ein Gedi in the Dead Sea region dates back to the beginning of the 2nd century, and the synagogue on the site of the modern kibbutz Maoz Chaim on the Golan Heights operated between the 4th and 11th centuries.
In Northern, Central and South America the swastika appears in Mayan and Aztec art. IN North America the Navajo, Tennessee and Ohio tribes used the swastika symbol in ritual burials.
Thai greeting Swatdi! comes from the word svatdika(swastika).
The swastika as an emblem of Nazi organizations
Nevertheless, I was forced to reject all the countless projects sent to me from all over by young supporters of the movement, since all these projects boiled down to only one theme: taking old colors and drawing a hoe-shaped cross on this background in different variations. […] After a series of experiments and alterations, I myself compiled a completed project: the main background of the banner is red; there is a white circle inside, and in the center of this circle is a black hoe-shaped cross. After much rework, I finally found the necessary relationship between the size of the banner and the size of the white circle, and also finally settled on the size and shape of the cross.
In the mind of Hitler himself, it symbolized the “struggle for the triumph of the Aryan race.” This choice combined the mystical occult meaning of the swastika, the idea of the swastika as an “Aryan” symbol (due to its prevalence in India), and the already established use of the swastika in the German far-right tradition: it was used by some Austrian anti-Semitic parties, and in March 1920 During the Kapp Putsch, it was depicted on the helmets of the Erhardt brigade that entered Berlin (there may have been Baltic influence here, since many soldiers of the Volunteer Corps encountered swastikas in Latvia and Finland). Already in the 20s, the swastika became increasingly associated with Nazism; after 1933, it finally began to be perceived as a Nazi symbol par excellence, as a result of which, for example, it was excluded from the emblem of the scout movement.
However, strictly speaking, the Nazi symbol was not just any swastika, but a four-pointed one, with the ends pointing to the right and rotated 45°. Moreover, it should be in a white circle, which in turn is depicted on a red rectangle. This very sign was on the state banner of National Socialist Germany from 1933 to 1945, as well as on the emblems of the civil and military services of this country (although, of course, other options were used for decorative purposes, including by the Nazis).
Actually, the Nazis used the term to designate the swastika, which served as their symbol. Hakenkreuz ("hakenkreuz", verbatim "hook cross", translation options also - "crooked" or "arachnid"), which is not a synonym for the word swastika (German. Swastika), also circulating in German. It can be said that "hakenkreuz"- the same national name for the swastika in German as "solstice" or "Kolovrat" in Russian or "hakaristi" in Finnish, and is usually used specifically to refer to the Nazi symbol. In the Russian translation, this word was translated as “hoe-shaped cross”.
On the poster of the Soviet graphic artist Moor “Everything is “G”” (1941), the swastika consists of 4 letters “G”, symbolizing the first letters of the surnames of the leaders of the Third Reich written in Russian - Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, Goering.
Geographical objects in the form of a swastika
Forest swastika
Forest swastika - forest planting in the shape of a swastika. They are found both in open areas in the form of appropriate schematic planting of trees, and in forest areas. IN the latter case As a rule, a combination of coniferous (evergreen) and deciduous (deciduous) trees is used.
Until 2000, the forest swastika existed northwest of the settlement of Zernikow, in the Uckermark region, in the state of Brandenburg in northwestern Germany.
On a hillside near the village of Tash-Bashat, in Kyrgyzstan, on the border with the Himalayas is the forest swastika "Eki Narin" ( 41.447351 , 76.391641 41°26′50.46″ n. w. 76°23′29.9″ E. d. / 41.44735121 , 76.39164121 (G)).
Labyrinths and their images
Buildings in the shape of a swastika
Complex 320-325(English) Complex 320-325) - one of the buildings of the naval landing base in Coronado (eng. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado ), in San Diego Bay, California. The base is operated by the United States Navy and is a central training and operating base for Special Forces and Expeditionary Forces. Coordinates 32.6761, -117.1578.
The Complex building was built between 1967 and 1970. The original design consisted of two central buildings for the boiler plant and relaxation area and a threefold repetition of the L-shaped barracks building with a 90-degree angle to the central buildings. The completed building was shaped like a swastika when viewed from above.
Computer symbol swastika
The Unicode character table contains the Chinese characters 卐 (U+5350) and 卍 (U+534D), which are swastikas.
Swastika in culture
In the Spanish TV series "Black Lagoon" (Russian version of "Closed School"), the Nazi organization, developing in the depths of a secret laboratory under a boarding school, had a coat of arms in which the swastika was encrypted.
Gallery
- Swastika in European culture
Swastika in a Roman mosaic from the 2nd century AD.
See also
Notes
- R.V. Bagdasarov. Radio broadcast “Swastika: blessing or curse” on “Echo of Moscow”.
- Korablev L. L. Graphic magic of the Icelanders. - M.: “Veligor”, 2002. - P. 101
- http://www.swastika-info.com/images/amerika/usa/cocacola-swastika-fob.jpg
- Gorodtsov V. A. Archeology. Stone period. M.; Pg., 1923.
- Jelinek Jan. Large illustrated atlas primitive man. Prague, 1985.
- Tarunin A. Past - Kolovrat in Russia.
- Bagdasarov, Roman; Dymarsky Vitaly, Zakharov Dmitry Swastika: blessing or curse. "The Price of Victory". "Echo of Moscow". Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
- Bagdasarov, Roman.. - M.: M., 2001. - P. 432.
- Sergey Fomin. Materials for the history of the Tsarina's Cross
- Letters Royal Family from captivity. Jordanville, 1974. P. 160; Dehn L. The Real Tsaritsa. London, 1922. R. 242.
- Right there. P. 190.
- Nikolaev R. Soviet "credit cards" with swastikas? . Bonistics website. - the article was also published in the newspaper “Miniature” 1992 No. 7, p. 11. Archived from the original source on August 23, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- Evgeny Zhirnov. Grant the right to wear a swastika to all Red Army soldiers // Vlast magazine. - 01.08.2000 - No. 30 (381)
- http://www.echo.msk.ru/programs/victory/559590-echo/ Interview with historian and religious scholar Roman Bagdasarov
- http://lj.rossia.org/users/just_hoaxer/311555.html LYUNGTN
- Kuftin B. A. Material culture Russian Meshchera. Part 1. Women's clothing: shirt, poneva, sundress. - M.: 1926.
- W. Shearer. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- quote from the book by R. Bagdasarov “The Mysticism of the Fiery Cross”, M., Veche, 2005
- Discussion of the terms Hakenkreuz and Swastika in the LiveJournal community “Linguaphiles” (in English)
- Adolf Hitler, "Mein Kampf"
- Kern Hermann. Labyrinths of the world / Transl. from English - St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2007. - 432 p.
- Azerbaijani Carpets (English)
- Li Hongzhi. Zhuan Falun Falun Dafa
Literature
In Russian
- Wilson Thomas. Swastika. The oldest known symbol, its movement from country to country, with observations about the movement of some crafts in prehistoric times / Translation from English: A. Yu. Moskvin // History of the swastika from ancient times to the present day. - Nizhny Novgorod: Publishing House "Books", 2008. - 528 p. - P. 3-354. - ISBN 978-5-94706-053-9.
(This is the first publication in Russian of the best fundamental work on the history of the swastika, written by the curator of the department of prehistoric anthropology National Museum USA by Thomas Wilson, and published for the first time in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington) in 1896). - Akunov V. The swastika is the oldest symbol of humanity (selection of publications)
- Bagdasarov R.V. Swastika: sacred symbol. Ethno-religious essays. - Ed. 2nd, corrected. - M.: White Alva, 2002. - 432 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-7619-0164-1
- Bagdasarov R.V. The mysticism of the fiery cross. Ed. 3rd, add. and corrected. - M.: Veche, 2005. - 400 p. - 5000 copies. - (Labyrinths of occult science). -